Journalist: You never thought this day would come?
Nick Pope: No.
Journalist: Why?
Pope: I’ve played in some cold, dark leagues. In League One and lower than that, and then also League Two, and Conference. The national team is a level .. you think it’s too far away almost.
Nick Pope was speaking in March 2018, following his maiden call-up to the England team by manager Gareth Southgate. Asked how he felt on receiving his first call-up, Pope had said, “A massive achievement, something I’m really happy about. Something I got to share over the weekend with my family and my friends. Obviously I never thought (this day would) come and now it has.”
Answering questions posed by some of the finest football correspondents in the country at the England camp, Pope’s situation was in stark contrast to 10 years earlier, when as a 16-year-old he was released by Ipswich Town after being told he wasn’t “good enough”. “I was tearful for a couple of days,” recalled Pope later. “At that point you’re lower than a snake’s belly.”
This season, 12 years after being released by Ipswich, Pope is the leader of a Newcastle United defence that has kept 10 consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
It is a run that is helping Newcastle mount an unprecedented bid for a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. It has also brought Newcastle to within 90 minutes of their first trophy in 54 years – the Inter Cities Fairs Cup won in 1969. All the Magpies have to do to get to the final in Wembley in February is to see off Southampton in the second-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final due to be held on January 31.
“Pope’s been outstanding for us this year,” said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe after the Magpies’ 1-0 win over Southampton in the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
“The defence has played very well the majority of the time in front of him, but whenever he is needed, he’s produced the goods for us.”
THE FRIEDEL CONNECTION
Pope’s rise to prominence relatively later in life after signing for Newcastle – he was 30 when Howe signed him from Burnley last summer, as well as the varied experiences Pope had had up to that point – mirror that of former American shot-stopper Brad Friedel. Friedel got his big break when he was 29 years old when joining Blackburn Rovers in 2000, by which point he had already played in the Danish, Turkish and American football leagues. Similarly, Pope during a 5-year spell at League One club Charlton Athletic was sent out on loan 6 times to clubs in the lower reaches of the English football pyramid.
(Coincidentally, Friedel also has a Newcastle connection: he was signed by Kevin Keegan for the Magpies in 1994, only for the move to fall through after the American was denied a work permit.)
By the year 2000, the 6-foot-3-inch Friedel was established as the US national team’s number one goalkeeper, but was still a relatively unknown entity in Europe. The American’s quest to play in the English Premier League (EPL) had been derailed repeatedly by red tape: his application for a work permit in the United Kingdom had been rejected by authorities after first signing for Nottingham Forest in 1993, then Newcastle in 1994 and then Sunderland in 1995, before finally being approved after joining Liverpool in 1997.
In between, Friedel had had spells at Galatasaray in Turkey and at Columbus Crew in the fledgling Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA.
Not everyone wants to like you, not everyone will like you. But you have to earn every ounce of respect that you get in this game. Sometimes, you have to start at the bottom to get to the top.
Brad Friedel, on how he learnt to persevere early in his career
Playing for Liverpool had been Friedel’s boyhood dream. However, the burly American’s time in Merseyside was unsuccessful, and he never established himself in the first team. It was only when Graeme Souness, who had managed Friedel at Galatasaray, signed him on a free transfer for Blackburn in November 2000 that his career finally took off.
The man called ‘The Human Wall’ by American football fans eventually earned a reputation as one of the most durable goalkeepers in Premier League history, playing for the Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa before retiring at the age of 44 in 2015.
“Brad has to be the best value for money signing I have ever made,” Souness later said.
“I always used to say Ray Wilkins when I signed him for Glasgow Rangers for £200,000. He had a couple of great years, but given the fact that I paid nothing for Brad, he shades it.”
Friedel himself later spoke about how he had had to persevere his way to get his big break in the game. Looking back on his career during his induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the US in 2018, Friedel recalled an incident while at Galatasaray. “My first week there, I walk into the locker room, I sit down,” he said. “You were only allowed 3 foreigners (in the team) at that time. And one of the players who speaks a little bit of English comes over, sits next to me and puts his arm around me. And (pointing to another teammate sitting nearby) says, ‘That’s my best friend over there.’ And it was the other goalkeeper.
“And he goes, ‘You’re not wanted here, you’re not needed here.’ And that’s the welcome (I got),” Friedel said.
“So very early in my career, I knew what it took inside (myself) to persevere through those times. Because not everyone wants to like you, not everyone will like you. But you have to earn every ounce of respect that you get in this game. Sometimes, you have to start at the bottom to get to the top.”
Pope would know.
After being released by Ipswich Town in 2008, the 16-year-old Pope worked part-time as a milkman to supplement his income even as he turned out for non-league club Bury Town till 2011. Within 8 years, he went from playing in English football’s seventh tier to winning his full international cap against Kosovo in 2019.
“I did two years of business marketing and one of sports science at college and had a couple of jobs alongside,” said Pope after getting his maiden call-up to the England team in 2018. “But it allowed me to play 150 non-league games in three years, something which, in academy football, would have been impossible.”
A SOLID SUPPORTING CAST
While Pope deservedly gets acclaim for Newcastle’s defensive record this season, he would be the first to admit that having a watertight defence in front him, allied with relentless pressing of opponents by the rest of Howe’s team, have contributed greatly to the cause.
“At the minute we look really solid at the back and the boys work ever so hard to make that happen,” said Pope on being asked about the clean sheet record after the Southampton game.
Marshalled by England right-back Kieran Trippier, Newcastle’s four-man defence typically has Dutchman Sven Botman and Swiss international Fabian Schar in the middle, with the 6-foot-6-inch Englishman Dan Burn guarding the left flank.
Schar and Botman complement each other: while Schar is stronger with the ball at his feet, he can advance confidently into the opposition half secure in the knowledge that Botman’s pace will help cover for him in case he finds himself on a sticky wicket. While Botman is not as comfortable playing out from the back, his excellent reading of the game, physicality and 6-foot-4-inch frame make him a considerable presence at the back.
On the flanks, Trippier’s bombing runs forward and free-kick abilities are complemented by Burn’s superior defensive attributes. While Burn does not have a reputation as a particularly attacking left-back, his marvellous reading of the game often helps him be at the right place at the right time to snuff out attacks before they become dangerous. His 6-foot-6-inch height also makes him a constant threat in the air.
It’s not just the defence, though. Under Howe, all Newcastle players – Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock being standouts – press the opposition with little let-up. The pressing does not possess the technical brilliance evident in Manchester City’s short passing game, but it is not for lack of effort. Newcastle are not stylish, but are always diligent.
CHINK IN THE ARMOUR?
Despite Pope’s superlative form between the sticks for Newcastle this season, critics quibble about a perceived weakness in the 30-year-old: the quality of his distribution of the ball.
This drawback, some suggest, makes Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale better picks for England if the Three Lions want to play out from the back.
However, opponents do not rate the Magpies goalkeeper any less due to this flaw. “I think Nick Pope is the best goalkeeper in the league,” said Southampton boss Nathan Jones after losing the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final to Newcastle 0-1.
“In terms of goalkeeping – catching it, keeping the ball out of the net, making big saves – then there isn’t a better goalkeeper than Pope,” Jones said. “A lot of keepers now are judged on how brilliant they are with their feet and how well they can play. So yes, with that, there are certain ones that are better than Pope. But in terms of being a goalkeeper, and what I think is required in being a top goalkeeper, then he is categorically the best in the Premier League.”
Pope also drew applause from the high priest of tiki-taka, Pep Guardiola, earlier this season.
“England has an incredible goalkeeper there,” said the Manchester City boss after the Magpies number one pulled off some spectacular saves to help Newcastle to a 3-3 draw against the champions at St James’ Park in August. “(Howe)’s done a top-class job,” said Guardiola. “You can see his team is growing. Newcastle have everything: they have pace, they have quality. It’s a very difficult place to come.”
Ahead of an international friendly against the Republic of Ireland in November 2020 in which Pope was expected to start in goal, England manager Southgate spoke about the Newcastle ‘keeper. “He’s got a great habit of keeping the ball out of the net. That’s a bit old-fashioned in terms of what people want from goalkeepers, they want them to start attacks, create attacks, juggle, do all sorts of things. But actually, there’s something to be said for coming and collecting crosses, dominating your box and keeping the ball out of your net with good saves and he does that. So we couldn’t be happier with him as a guy to work with.”
As it happened, Pope did start the match against the Republic of Ireland. He was substituted at half-time, making way for Dean Henderson. England eventually won the game 3-0, keeping a clean sheet. With help from Nick Pope.
Pope will hope for another clean sheet on Tuesday against Southampton at St James’ Park in the second-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. This time around, he can dream of walking out at Wembley to help Newcastle win their first trophy in 54 years come February.